“Thank you for believing in everything that I’m doing,” Gomez said. “Thank you to everyone who has been genuine about it, and they genuinely want to be in my life. It has made a huge difference.”

His goals are to continue to play out and to live a legacy. He draws inspiration for songwriting on his own life experiences.

“If we talk about dreams, I would love to see myself playing at a stadium and being able to share my story with more people, and bring something fresh,” he said.

During a blind audition on the Oct. 7 episode, Gomez performed “Lonely Teardrops” by Jackie Wilson, but he was eliminated during the battle round on Season 28 of the singing competition. Gomez battled with Teo Ramdel.

“This was just another opportunity to be seen. It gave me a lot of validation for my career, because I was picked. I was asked to come to the show. I never had the strength or motivation to audition for any of those shows,” said Gomez. “Being contacted by them was a good feeling, because they saw something that they wanted.”

Gomez learned so much by being on “The Voice,” he said.

“I learned that you don’t go on to the show thinking that you’re better, or you’re going to win or anything…That’s the thing I love about the show, everybody is absolutely incredible and unique, and I learned that it’s just business at the end of the day.”

He said, “Being you and being unique is what people want to see. That’s what matters. That’s what makes an artist.”

One thing he took away from the show is the importance of staying true to yourself.

“You never want to be somebody else. Be you, because people want to see that,” Gomez said.

The Havana, Cuba native earned a three-chair turn with his audition, and after having his pick of three of the coaches, Gomez chose Michael Bublé as his mentor. (At that point, Reba’s team was full, so she couldn’t turn around.)

“I just loved it. Michael was such a kind person. He was very caring and talked to us like regular humans. He is always genuinely impressed with everybody’s talent. He is very specific about his compliments, so it’s not like a random, general compliment, it’s very specific to your persona. He was awesome. He was a great coach and he’s somebody I’ve always looked up to. I love his style, the music he sings and his voice. So, it was definitely a good experience with him,” Gomez said.

He said, “It was really hard, because I love all of them. If Reba could have turned around, she would have been my top, but I also love the other three coaches. It was real, it was a hundred percent in the moment, like you have to pick what you want. So, that was an experience on its own.”

Personal journey

Gomez, 29, came to the United States at age 13 and he has lived in Hamilton for a year. He has an 8-year-old daughter.

“I’m a third generation circus performer, so I grew up in the circus…We always had to learn new acts, routines and skills, and I’ve always liked singing, that was something that we always incorporated into the show, but I never pursued that as my career, because I thought the circus was going to be my thing forever, but it just grew from there. I’ve been doing music full-time for the past five years,” said Gomez.

In the circus, he was an acrobat and an aerialist. His specialty was aerial straps, along with the trapeze. He also did hand-balancing, juggling, fire-eating, sword-swallowing “and a lot of the scary part of the circus show stuff that is pretty dangerous.”

“I basically did all of the acts,” Gomez said. “I picked it up seeing other people perform those acts and by being interested in that, and we would share knowledge with other people. I learned a lot on my own, but I also trained with my family. My grandpa taught me a lot of the sideshow part of it, because he was daredevil.”

The circus taught him about stage presence, how to dress and what captures people’s attention. He’s lived in trains, slept in trailers, and he’s also stayed in upscale hotels and worked in Las Vegas.

On his dad’s side, most of the family members were musicians.

“I’ve been on the lowest, and I’ve been on the highest as a performer, and I feel like shapes you into a unique person,” Gomez said. “My music is not just my music. It’s also my past and my story.”

He said people started calling him the “Cuban Cowboy,” and it’s a nickname that stuck.

“People started calling me the ‘Cuban Cowboy.’ People would ask me where I was from, and I would say Cuba, but I was wearing a cowboy hat, and I always like Western wear. So, it stuck,” Gomez said.

His music

Gomez described his musical style as “soul, country, leaning more into the fifties or oldies feel.”

“Usually, people from different cultures do their cultural thing, but I grew up listening to a lot of old records, country music, soul, doo-wop, and fifties music, so that’s where I got my genre, and how I grew up liking this kind of music,” he said.

Prior to being on “The Voice,” Gomez already had an impressive following on TikTok with more than 30,000 followers. Now, he has 36,700 followers and 90.6K likes. Connect with Elias Gomez on social media @eliasgomezmusic.

“I used to do a lot of live streaming on TikTok, and one of the nights I was on TikTok, one of their people contacted me and asked if I wanted to be on the show. I thought at first it was a scam or something, so I ignored it for a little bit, but it happened to be true, so they scouted me, basically to come on to the show and be part of it. That’s how it came to be,” Gomez said.

Gomez has released four songs under Elias Gomez Music, which are available on all platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and TikTok. He is currently promoting the song “Pretty Eyes,” which is expected to be released the first week of December.

He also plays frequently in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky as well as places like Texas and Florida.

“I feel like with ‘The Voice,’ it was just the beginning,” Gomez said. “I have this video, I have this validation, and now, I have to go work. I have so much work to do. I don’t feel like I’m where I want to be. I’m not even close, because I’m really ambitious about my music. It’s not just about money. I want people to hear the stuff, because I know it will change their lives. I know it will be something fresh…That’s the beauty of music. It’s not about being better or bigger, it’s about being different. That’s what makes music and art beautiful.”

The Voice Season 28 features coaches Reba McEntire, Snoop Dogg, Niall Horan and Bublé. The show is hosted by Carson Daly.